Japan has sharply raised the fees foreign residents pay for immigration procedures. The fee for a permanent residency application jumped 20-fold to 200,000 yen, or about 1.72 million won. Fees for changing residency status or renewing a period of stay also rose, with increases tiered by the length of stay granted.
The permanent residency fee rose from 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen on the 1st, according to Japan's Immigration Services Agency on the 5th. The fee may be reduced or waived for applicants who meet certain conditions, such as financial hardship.
Fees for changing residency status or renewing a period of stay also climbed steeply. Applicants filing in person previously paid a flat 6,000 yen, but will now pay between 10,000 yen and 75,000 yen depending on the length of stay they are granted.
A stay of three months or less costs 10,000 yen, more than three months to six months costs 18,000 yen, and more than six months to less than one year costs 25,000 yen. A one-year stay costs 33,000 yen, more than one year to less than three years costs 48,000 yen, three years to less than five years costs 64,000 yen, and five years or more costs 75,000 yen.
Online application fees have also changed. The fee was previously 5,500 yen, but applications filed on or after Oct. 1 cost between 10,000 yen and 65,000 yen depending on the length of stay. Online applications also carry a separate payment processing fee.
The increases follow revisions to the enforcement decree of Japan's immigration control law and related rules. The Immigration Services Agency said the changes reflect rising administrative costs tied to the growing number of foreign residents. The additional revenue will go toward education programs for foreign nationals and measures to reduce the number of people overstaying their visas.
The burden is expected to be substantial, given that roughly 300,000 foreign nationals obtain a new residency status each year. A Myanmar-born man in his 40s said the fee exceeds his monthly take-home pay, calling it "a really big blow."
A member of the Rohingya minority, he fled persecution for Japan and was recognized as a refugee in 2022. The renewal fee, paid every five years, previously came to 24,000 yen for a family of four including children, but rises to 300,000 yen, or about 2.6 million won, from October.
He wants to switch to permanent resident status, which requires no renewal, but that is effectively out of reach because the Immigration Services Agency plans to require annual income at or above that of an average Japanese household as a condition for permanent residency.
Applicants rushed to file before the fee increase took effect late last month. About 350 people crowded the Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau around the 9 a.m. start of filing on the 29th of last month, with the queue stretching outside the building, according to Kyodo News.
The agency said on its website on the 28th of last month that heavy traffic to its online residency application system was making it difficult to file, and advised those in urgent need to use in-person counters.
The higher fees apply to applications filed on or after Oct. 1. Applications submitted through Sept. 30 are charged the previous fees, even if permission is granted on or after Oct. 1.
